Gears of War 3 marks the end of Epic Games' current story arc starring Marcus Fenix and his merry band of cogs, and early reviews indicate the trilogy is going out with a bang. However, Epic's sci-fi shooter isn't marching to the front lines alone, as the third week of September also marks the arrival of two DS exclusives from Nintendo as well as a stockpile of downloadable fair.

As for Gears of War 3, the game begins with the last human city having been obliterated and series hero Marcus Fenix trying to protect the remaining humans from the Locust horde, as well as from the newer, deadlier foe, the mutating Lambent. The game is available in a standard ($60), Limited ($80), and Epic ($150) edition, and a $30 season pass for four upcoming add-on packs is also available.

On to Nintendo's platforms, Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker 2 plays out much like other games in the Square Enix-owned franchise, where turn-based battles offer players the option to fight or flee. More than 300 different monsters are available in Joker 2, though about 50 can be gained only through the correct merging of two other species.

The turn-based role-playing game will be accompanied by Kirby: Mass Attack. Biilled as a side-scrolling real-time strategy game, Kirby: Mass Attack challenges players with guiding an amassed army of Kirbys to safety. Gamers can complement their purchase of the pink puffball's latest outing by picking up a new $170 metallic rose DSi XL, which hits store shelves on Sunday.

Switching to the downloadable sector, Bethesda Softworks will be releasing Lonesome Road as a free add-on for Fallout: New Vegas. The week also sees the release of the PlayStation 3 and PC version of the Call of Duty: Black Ops' Rezurrection map pack, which is already available for the Xbox 360 edition of the game.

Also this week, EA will be releasing Burnout Crash through Xbox Live and the PlayStation Network. A top-down take on the Burnout series' signature crash mode, the game sports three modes across six locations and boasts 18 crash junctions. Additionally, Burnout Crash supports the Autolog feature, an online social infrastructure that was first introduced in Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit and lets players measure their performance against their friends.

Capcom has a pair of Resident Evil HD remakes en route for XBLA and the PSN this month, the first of which debuts this week. Resident Evil 4 HD signifies the first time the critically acclaimed installment in Capcom's long-running survival horror series releases for Microsoft's and Sony's high-def platforms.

For further details on the week's games, visit GameSpot's New Releases page. The full list of downloadable games on the PlayStation Store, Xbox Live Marketplace, and Wii Shop Channel will be revealed later this week. Release dates are based on retailer listings and are subject to change.